61. 25-06-21 June FM&GP Meeting

Today I chaired the last Finance, Membership and General Purpose Committee of my term as Master. The new Master and Wardens Elect were also in attendance. We discuss articles for the forthcoming July edition of the Conservator and our Clerk gave us update on the Company finances which are in a healthy position from last year despite the pandemic. We also discussed future events and the need to bring members together again in the City as the social restrictions are eased.

Some time was also spent discussing the hiring of a new Beadle. Our current Beadle Tim Gutteridge has resigned as he has been offered a full-time position as a detective in the Metropolitan Police Force. We all wish Tim the very best for the future and thank him for the time he served us as Beadle.

Finally, I gave the committee an update on the Governance Review and Livery Climate Action Group. Work on the Governance Review is continuing well. It is planned to produce the Governance Review Paper for the Sept. FM&GP and Court. The draft Paper will be first shown to the Master/ Wardens Elect and the Clerk during July for comments. The main points arising from the consultation are: no changes to the Ordinances, modest changes to the Standing Orders, corrections to the Company Manual and Handbook to align with the governing documents, improving member orientation, a new task for the FM&GP in respect of external affairs, and a statement of Company values and code of conduct.

The Livery Climate Action Group, led by Alderman Alison Gowman, consists of around 50 volunteers from various livery companies, including 8 Water Conservators, in 4 working groups (Investment, Property, Education and General) to progress various aspects of the City’s Climate Action Strategy. The group is working on a charter that can be used by each livery company to produce their own climate action plan. We are currently advising other companies on water efficiency, wastewater and waste management/recycling, and will be looking to produce a draft action plan for the Water Conservators to put before the September Court meeting.